Camden County Library Teen Zone

Persepolis to Close NYC Film Festival

Persepolis and Persepolis 2 are graphic novel memoirs by the Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi.  Fast-paced and eye-opening, the books chronicle Satrapi's childhood under the Islamic Revolution in Iran, her teen years exiled to France, her eventual return to Iran, and her final departure for a life in France as an adult.  The books are also a crash-course in Iranian history and culture: by reading these books, I learned more about Iranian history, Iran's stormy, bloody relationship with Iraq, and the ethnic differences among Iranians and other peoples of the Middle East than I ever did in school. 

Now, these amazing books have been transformed into a great-looking film, which has been selected to close the New York Film Festival in October.  This is a huge honor, particularly for a film based on graphic novels, and bodes well for the film's future release prospects in this area.

• Read Persepolis and Persepolis 2
• Watch the trailer for Persepolis:

Best Evil Bunny Movies of All Time!

Just in time for Spring comes this funny article -- who doesn't love a movie with a cute, cuddly, totally eeeevil bunny in it?  As it happens, we have many of the top ten evil bunny movies right here in our branches!

You can find or place holds on Donnie Darko, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and Fatal Attraction (though, let's be fair -- the bunny in that one wasn't evil, s/he just met a very unfortunate end).  Happy viewing!

DVD Recommendation: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

I just returned this DVD to the Voorhees Branch, and I'm recommending it to everyone.  This is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time!  Don't be turned off by the word Shakespeare in the title -- you'll love this if you're a Shakespeare fan, if you were forced to read his work in school, or if you've only heard of Shakespeare.

This is a filming of an off-Broadway show performed by the Reduced Shakespeare Company.  The group performs a slapstick version of all 37 Shakespeare plays, all in 90 minutes.   See the Othello Rap, a hilarious retelling of Romeo and Juliet, a re-enactment of Hamlet with audience participation and much more.